Chromospheric Heating by MHD Waves and Instabilities

TL;DR

This review explores how MHD waves and instabilities contribute to heating and dynamic processes in the solar chromosphere, emphasizing observational insights and theoretical frameworks.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of the physics of MHD waves and instabilities in the chromosphere, highlighting recent observational and theoretical advances.

Findings

MHD waves play a key role in chromospheric heating.

Observations support wave-driven energy transport.

Instabilities may trigger dynamic phenomena.

Abstract

The importance of the chromosphere in the mass and energy transport within the solar atmosphere is now widely recognised. This review discusses the physics of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves and instabilities in large-scale chromospheric structures as well as in magnetic flux tubes. We highlight a number of key observational aspects that have helped our understanding of the role of the solar chromosphere in various dynamic processes and wave phenomena, and the heating scenario of the solar chromosphere is also discussed. The review focuses on the physics of waves and invokes the basics of plasma instabilities in the context of this important layer of the solar atmosphere. Potential implications, future trends and outstanding questions are also delineated.